BB: E8: Empire 8

[John McGraw]

With Ithaca now 7-11, and some decent teams to play in the future (Cortland, Rochester, RIT, Clarkson), do they have any realistic chance of getting an at-large bid?  The E-8 has no guaranteed bids right, so is there a possibility zero teams from the E-8 make it?  Is there any possibility a league like the LL or SUNYAC could see 3 teams make it since the E-8 seems to be real down this year?

Could be a serious possibility for a conference with five teams. Keep in mind that the committee will be looking more at Ithaca/St. John Fisher's regional record than their overall record. So, all of those games lost in California for Ithaca won't in theory be held against them come tournament discussion time.

That said, an Ithaca team that's still below .500 at this time of the season (towards mid-April) and drops a conference game to Utica doesn't seem like an NCAA tournament team right now. I'm frankly shocked. No disrespect to Utica whatsoever, Coach Weimer has been in baseball for some time but Ithaca should not lose to Utica, period. That said, Ithaca comes back to sweep tomorrow and taking three out of four isn't that awful.

[WrongArm]

There's nothing really wrong with UC that a few quality arms wouldn't fix. (OK, maybe more than a few) The era's of their starters is so high it makes me queasy. Dexter carried an era of 10 into the game today, but he pitched his ass off -- staying ahead and hitting his spots. Ithaca had only two hits, but that doesn't mean they didn't hit the ball. The UC defense was solid too.

I wouldn't be too shocked by one game. Three years of graduate assistant head coaches have helped UC play well below their potential. On a day where a pitcher gets hot and some bats go cold, anything can happen.

With regard to coach Weimer... it's hard to underestimate the value to a team of a coach who demands and gets discipline and focus. I don't know if UC's record will improve much this year, but it does make them more dangerous.

[John McGraw]

If I remember correctly, Ithaca's last loss to Utica was in 2003 or 2004.

Weimer is a huge asset to the Utica program. Here's a guy that was a stud at Division I LeMoyne in Syracuse and then played pro ball for six-seven years between the minor and independent leagues. If he sticks around, he could at least get the Utica program back to respectability.

[WrongArm]

If I remember correctly, Ithaca's last loss to Utica was in 2003 or 2004. 

I'm reminded of the standard investment company disclaimer, "Past Performance is No Guarantee of Future Results."

[AlleyCat]

What the heck is Ithaca doing canceling the RIT weekend? The weather wasn't that bad and other teams played around them. What are they just trying to wiggle their way back in by playing everyone like Rochester after they had to play a 4 game weekend league. Thats total crap.

Play like everyone else.

[John McGraw]

What the heck is Ithaca doing canceling the RIT weekend? The weather wasn't that bad and other teams played around them. What are they just trying to wiggle their way back in by playing everyone like Rochester after they had to play a 4 game weekend league. Thats total crap.

Play like everyone else.

Seriously? The weather on Friday and Saturday was atrocious with rain and light snow getting dumped on everyone. I don't think anyone at Ithaca or RIT anticipated it being nice on Sunday and so the series was pushed back until early May. Was the weather nice Sunday? Sure but hindsight is 20/20 and it would've been a waste for RIT to drive down to Ithaca only to have to drive home if the weather remained crummy like it was throughout Saturday. IMO, it was just easier to push all four games back until May when there was an open weekend and chances are, the weather then will be nicer. This happens all the time.

I honestly and sincerely doubt that playing Rochester on Tuesday had anything to do with postponing the RIT games. That's just silliness on your part and you're reading waaaay too much into it.

[AlleyCat]

John you may be right, but Ithaca's only way into the tournament is beating the very few good NY teams it plays. Beating Rochester can only help them. Yes beating RIT are nice wins, but RIT is onlt a fair team in NY.  I just know that Ithaca will also tell you that their league means nothing to them. Its their non-league games that get them into the tourney.

Just my thoughts.....

[AlleyCat]

As you can see Ithaca went after Rochester full tilt with all their starters and still came up short. Rochester pitched their relievers and still beat the Bombers. This should take care of Ithaca's playoff chances. They just do not have it this year and should not be rewarded with a playoff ticket.  I know its early still but I just don't see it this year.


Just my thoughts......

[John McGraw]

As you can see Ithaca went after Rochester full tilt with all their starters and still came up short. Rochester pitched their relievers and still beat the Bombers. This should take care of Ithaca's playoff chances. They just do not have it this year and should not be rewarded with a playoff ticket.  I know its early still but I just don't see it this year.


Just my thoughts......

Rochester won the game, quit crying about Ithaca lining up its' starters. Good gracious.

[WrongArm]

Fishback is clearly Ithaca's number one and at 43 innings has pitched twice as often as the other starters who all hover in the low/mid twenties. They're going to throw him as often as possible and the stats confirm this.

I don't think canceling the RIT games changed Ithaca's Wednesday pitching against Rochester at all. Earlier in the year, Fishback pitched against Stevens on Saturday and came back on three days rest to throw against Oneonta for a Wednesday game. No schedule adjustments were necessary to have him available to pitch against Rochester.

Pitching aside, Ithaca really has to improve its offensive production against good teams. Rochester out hit them 16 to 6.

[scuba16]

Currently at 11-12, IC would need a miracle to make the NY region this yr. No way with that type of a record and no AQ, Pool A bid available... its nearly impossible! They would need to go 16-0, 15-1, 14-2  finish at 27-12, 26-13 or 25-14 and also beat Cortland to have a shot!
Love Coach Val but making the regional this yr would be a miracle!

[airball55]

All Ithaca seems to ever have to do to get in is finish with an above average .500 record.  Not sure if the NCAA can sneak them in this year.  Their regional appearances haven't been too good the past few years.  Besides, St. John Fisher is probably the better club anyway right now at 20-9 and we should be considering them for the pool B bid.  They have a regional win against U of R and are playing well right now.  I think they have a great shot to get the series this weekend and if they do it will be tough to keep them out of the pool B discussion. 

[AlleyCat]

I would say that even if St John Fisher splits with Ithaca, that would get them in the discussion and end Ithaca's.

[CrashDavisD3]

There are only 4 POOL B berths this year. Last year there were 6. So no sneaking in this year. In future years this number will drop maybe to 2....

[BaseB13]

There are only 4 POOL B berths this year. Last year there were 6. So no sneaking in this year. In future years this number will drop maybe to 2....

Initially I thought the same thing.  After looking at the independent schools (Im assuming conferences with less than 7 teams or not in a conference), there are very few Pool B teams out there with solid records.  I think SJFC has a legitimate shot at a bid right now.  Coupld GSAC (i think)  teams that have all won 25 games or so.  And Chapman will get a Pool B bid.  I think if Ithaca only lost 1 or 2 games the rest of the way they'd still be considered given the weak field.  SJFC would have to lose a bunch for that to happen also.